- November 4, 2024
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There probably isn’t a sports locker room that hasn’t discussed the topic of God in sports. Some players believe “good people” should win all of their games, due to His favor, while others consider it trivial that God would have a favorite team and care about sports in light of broken homes, poor people and tragic events. In 2013, Public Religion Research Institute conducted a few national surveys that revealed that 27% of people believe God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event, and 53% believe that God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success.
So, is God really concerned with who wins and loses? Absolutely. But, it’s probably not why you may think.
Football has, without a doubt, become America’s favorite present time. Millions of fans devote their Sundays to watching football, tailgating, painting their bodies, buying wings and pizza, and losing their voices, yelling at their teams. They possess a different passion from other people, and football usually dictates their calendar.
While this may hurt some of their feelings, God doesn’t think like we do. Our lives concern maybe hundreds or thousands of people. His will concerns trillions of people, seeing everything has to work perfectly for all generations throughout history.
Whether the issue is sports, banking, politics or whatever, wins and losses have shaped people for other things in life. One athlete has a testimony of constantly losing, which ultimately resulted in not having a sports job, that launched him/her into a much bigger purpose in life. And another has a story of winning, becoming arrogant and losing everything because he couldn’t handle the success. Throughout both their lives, I’m pretty sure their perspectives on winning and losing might have altered.
One of the reasons I loved Tim Tebow’s unorthodox rise to NFL stardom is the conversation of God emerged daily on television and radio. While he enjoyed a season of semi-success, we all ultimately know how his career has evolved. You’d think, if any man or woman should’ve won on a consistent basis to show God’s power, Tebow should’ve been the guy, but he’s now a college football analyst because he can’t get a job in the league.
So, does God play a role in wins and losses? Yes. But, remember, when a team wins or loses in any sport, anywhere around the world in at any level, generations are affected. We just don’t think like that.
What are thoughts? Does your Maker, if you believe in one, play a role in deciding the winners and losers?
